As modern digital photographers we are all, to some degree, slaves to the continual cycle of upgrading. Kept in thrall we are to the promise of newer, better, lighter, and /or faster technology (usually at higher prices). We are easy prey to clever marketing, YouTube teaser reveals, and our own best intentions to create even better images. I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but I certainly know that I am one of those as I have several shelves filled with cameras, lenses, filters, and a closet full of different camera bags. I was once told that to a photographer, there is no such thing as having too many camera bags. I think I can pretty much say the same thing about every other piece of equipment.
When I go on a camping trip or on a road trip, there is generally no restriction on what I can bring so I usually have bags and bins chock full of gear. This is compounded by the fact that I not only shoot normal daytime, color photography, but that I also shoot infrared photography and at night I bring out my astrophotography equipment. But when I am flying somewhere, and in particular international travel, and even more particularly for those overseas trips that will involve in-country flights where the rules about checked luggage weight and carry-on baggage are often quite stringent, I need to seriously consider and reconsider every piece of gear that I am taking. I need to balance luggage restrictions and weight loads with what I am willing to carry on my back. I’m not as young as I used to be so gone are the days of 45 pound camera bags. If I know that I am unlikely to be doing any serious astrophotography then that certainly will help make my camera bag lighter. And with regards to infrared photography, I now travel with either an infrared converted point-and-shoot or more recently a small micro 4/3s camera with a wide-to-normal pancake zoom lens. So, based on numerous overseas trips I have taken, here are my recommendations for the ideal camera and lens combinations for traveling light but still maintaining a high degree of options for your photography.
To begin with, I always travel with two camera bodies. This is so that I can have a wide to medium telephoto mounted on one and either an ultra wide telephoto or a longer zoom lens on the second body as typically I don’t like to switch lenses on bodies unless I absolutely have to. This is both because of the time switching lenses can take, but also because doing so creates a high potential for introducing dust into a normally otherwise closed system. Previous to a couple of years ago the two camera bodies I carried were DSLRs, one full frame and one APS-C. They had slightly different button layouts and menus, which isn’t ideal. And of course because they had different sensor formats the lenses weren’t 100% interchangeable. Recently I have switched brands and in doing so both bodies are now full frame mirrorless and also have the exact same button layout even though the models are different. This leads to my customized buttons being identical on both bodies (a very good think!). The smaller size and lower weight of these two cameras as compared to my older DSLRs is significant.
Coupled with these two bodies, I travel with a minimum of three lenses. My super wide zoom is 12-24mm. My “primary” lens is a 24-105mm and my usual long zoom lens is a 70-300mm. The full-frame range from 12-300mm covers almost all potential landscape and travel photography subjects and environments. Of course if you are hoping to photograph birds and/or wildlife a reach of 500-600mm is desirable/necessary. This can be accomplished with either a telecoverter or, better yet, a native zoom.
Regarding aperture, the advice has always been “faster is better” and whilst technically that is usually true, there is a price that must be borne when going in that direction: bulk and weight. Several years ago I switched from F/2.8 lenses to F/4 and realized a significant camera bag weight loss. I suppose pixel peepers could find qualitative differences between the F/2.8 and the F/4 lenses but I cannot. So my 12-24 and 24-105 are both f/4 lenses. They are significantly lighter than my previous comparable f/2.8 lenses. My 70-300 is a variable f/4.5–5.6. Despite the fact you may be shooting at a one stop higher relative to my previous lenses the newer modern cameras are much better at handling noise as is the current crop of noise reduction software. For those rare occasions when you really need a fast lens, I bring a fast normal non-zoom. Currently that is a 55 mm f/1.8. This allows me to shoot in very low light conditions. So that would be my fourth and last lens that I would bring on a typical travel photography trip. Add in my aforementioned small infrared converted camera and this completes my basic overseas kit making for a much lighter camera bag than what I carried in the past.